In the beginning of the chapter, the trials end. Johann has finished writing his letter, and is ready to go and deliver it to Helga. Johann begins to think about what he will do with Helga, about whether or not she will accept his letter as an explanation, and where they will live. He realizes that if he wants to return to his practice, he will need to leave Germany. Johann has a flashback of Berlin toward the end of the war, the Russians are approaching from the East, and the city is being bombed Johann is working at the Charite, a public hospital in Berlin dedicated to assisting people that were either wounded or sick at the time. He remembers walking over the bodies of all who had died. Johann comes to a train station where he intends to wait for a train, and to sleep until it arrived. There he finds a dead man that looks similar to him, named Heinrich Westermann from Dresden, Saxony. Johann swaps their papers, as well as their clothes, and begins to pose as Westermann. The next day, Johann discretely boards a train headed west in an open boxcar. After dark, the train began to move, Johann looked out to see the bombs and mortars of the advancing Russian Army. A few days later, when the train slowed down, Johann jumped out of the boxcar, and was almost immediately captured by American troops, and taken to a work camp, where he was assigned a job as a janitor. After a while, Johann was brought before a Denazification Panel, he then goes to Nuremberg, and finds work at the Palace Of Justice as a janitor.
When he leaves his post at the Palace Of Justice, he goes to say a final farewell to Meier, but as he is about to say goodbye, Meier falls over and has a heart attack. As he is lying on the ground, he tells Johann where it is that he recognizes him from, Meier confirms Johann's identity, but only to himself. Johann puts his coat around Meier to keep him warm, and essentially, performs CPR on Meier until an ambulance arrives. When the ambulance arrives, Johann asks to go with Meier to the hospital. After they arrive, Meier is taken away to see a doctor. After a while a nurse comes up to Johann, and tells him that Meier is dead, and that they had found a letter in his coat to his wife. The hospital staff initially think that the coat and letter belong to Meier, and that he is the Nazi doctor that had done all of the things admitted to in the letter. Unwilling to part with his letter to Helga, Johann tries to get it back under the pretenses that he will deliver it to Meier's wife. By protesting however, Johann attracts the attention of a doctor that had worked with him in the past, and who immediately recognizes him. Johann has finally been caught.
Memorable Passages:
Pg. 446 “I didn’t believe I’m evil….I love been too human.”
Pg. 433 “Other demons were at work in me, too, hatched out of arrogance that I learned during medical training. I was certain that doctors were superior. And that patients were but a collection of symptoms.
Characters:
Heinrich Westermann (439) unmarried, Protestant, business man; died of a heart attack and had a head wound as well. Johann found him and stole his papers.
Old Schmidterl (441) Johann and Philipp's old school teacher from grade school
Vocab:
Adjourn (435)- To suspend to future time.
Roving (436)- To wander aimlessly.
Accosting (436)- Confronting.
Frenzied (437)- Frantic or wild.
Embankment (441)- A bank or mound.
Denazification (441)- The ridding of Nazism or Nazi influences.
Baize (435)- Usually green woolen fabric.
Mortars (436)- Indirect fire weapon.
Naphtha (448)- A petroleum derivative.
Key Concepts/Events:
Koblenz 433- German City Grafeneck- Small rural village Verrater 437- Deserter Offizier-Officer Liebchen- Little love Unter den Linden- Lime- tree-lined boulevald Old Schmidterl 441- child, hood teacher Namen- 442- name Wieheiss Du- what is your name? Nicht- moonlight
Chapter 22: I Made My Choices
Summary:
In the beginning of the chapter, the trials end. Johann has finished writing his letter, and is ready to go and deliver it to Helga. Johann begins to think about what he will do with Helga, about whether or not she will accept his letter as an explanation, and where they will live. He realizes that if he wants to return to his practice, he will need to leave Germany. Johann has a flashback of Berlin toward the end of the war, the Russians are approaching from the East, and the city is being bombed Johann is working at the Charite, a public hospital in Berlin dedicated to assisting people that were either wounded or sick at the time. He remembers walking over the bodies of all who had died. Johann comes to a train station where he intends to wait for a train, and to sleep until it arrived. There he finds a dead man that looks similar to him, named Heinrich Westermann from Dresden, Saxony. Johann swaps their papers, as well as their clothes, and begins to pose as Westermann. The next day, Johann discretely boards a train headed west in an open boxcar. After dark, the train began to move, Johann looked out to see the bombs and mortars of the advancing Russian Army. A few days later, when the train slowed down, Johann jumped out of the boxcar, and was almost immediately captured by American troops, and taken to a work camp, where he was assigned a job as a janitor. After a while, Johann was brought before a Denazification Panel, he then goes to Nuremberg, and finds work at the Palace Of Justice as a janitor.When he leaves his post at the Palace Of Justice, he goes to say a final farewell to Meier, but as he is about to say goodbye, Meier falls over and has a heart attack. As he is lying on the ground, he tells Johann where it is that he recognizes him from, Meier confirms Johann's identity, but only to himself. Johann puts his coat around Meier to keep him warm, and essentially, performs CPR on Meier until an ambulance arrives. When the ambulance arrives, Johann asks to go with Meier to the hospital. After they arrive, Meier is taken away to see a doctor. After a while a nurse comes up to Johann, and tells him that Meier is dead, and that they had found a letter in his coat to his wife. The hospital staff initially think that the coat and letter belong to Meier, and that he is the Nazi doctor that had done all of the things admitted to in the letter. Unwilling to part with his letter to Helga, Johann tries to get it back under the pretenses that he will deliver it to Meier's wife. By protesting however, Johann attracts the attention of a doctor that had worked with him in the past, and who immediately recognizes him. Johann has finally been caught.
Memorable Passages:
Pg. 446 “I didn’t believe I’m evil….I love been too human.”
Pg. 433 “Other demons were at work in me, too, hatched out of arrogance that I learned during medical training. I was certain that doctors were superior. And that patients were but a collection of symptoms.
Characters:
Heinrich Westermann (439) unmarried, Protestant, business man; died of a heart attack and had a head wound as well. Johann found him and stole his papers.
Old Schmidterl (441) Johann and Philipp's old school teacher from grade school
Vocab:
Adjourn (435)- To suspend to future time.
Roving (436)- To wander aimlessly.
Accosting (436)- Confronting.
Frenzied (437)- Frantic or wild.
Embankment (441)- A bank or mound.
Denazification (441)- The ridding of Nazism or Nazi influences.
Baize (435)- Usually green woolen fabric.
Mortars (436)- Indirect fire weapon.
Naphtha (448)- A petroleum derivative.
Key Concepts/Events:
Koblenz 433- German City
Grafeneck- Small rural village
Verrater 437- Deserter
Offizier-Officer
Liebchen- Little love
Unter den Linden- Lime- tree-lined boulevald
Old Schmidterl 441- child, hood teacher
Namen- 442- name
Wieheiss Du- what is your name?
Nicht- moonlight